drapetomonia - the overwhelming urge to run away.
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When Junia Beaumont, her brother and their classmates get a last assignment before the end of the school year, she doesn't know just how quickly things will change for her.
Who would have thought t...
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49. family line
As the night comes to a close, all that remains of the celebration are the tables and chairs left outside. Treech’s older brothers, their wives and his niece bid them a good night around midnight. But even after everything quietened down, not much can diminish the spark left behind by Treech’s homecoming.
Although almost the entire household is expected to leave for work or school early in the morning, it still takes another hour for everyone to settle back into the house. The youngest, however, are too tired to help with the cleanup and Daisy practically forces them into bed at the sight of their exhausted faces.
But as tired as June is, she can’t seem to fall asleep just yet. Since there’s only one bathroom available, June for the first time ever in a long time has to come to terms with the fact that she needs to wait before she can get ready for bed. There’s the bedroom Treech’s parents share, the bedroom Birdie and Ivy share, the bedroom for Treech’s youngest brothers, and the bedroom that Treech once shared with his older brothers.
Apparently the youngest took turns sleeping in Treech’s bed while he was gone, sometimes even together in the most uncomfortable positions Daisy has ever seen. They often complained over sore backs and muscles, but she let it slide. At the end of the day, they were just little boys that were trying to cope with their big brother’s absence. After all, Treech has been in their lives for as long as they can think, and even though him being reaped was undoubtedly a punch in the gut for the entire family, his little brothers had it the worst.
This year was twelve-year-old Ranger’s first time being in the reaping bowl. Of course, he was very nervous, but his older siblings were all able to calm him down, reminding him that none of them had their names called even though they were older. Ranger knew his name was in the bowl only once, he knew his odds were slim, and that his brothers had more reason to worry, but he believed them.
But when Treech’s name was called, he felt like it was the end of the world. If not even his big brother can be safe, what are the odds of him not being next? It left a terror deep in his body and mind that even Treech’s “victory” at the Games only did little to soothe his nerves.
He doesn’t want to be next. But who wants to be? No one wants to leave their home, knowing they’ll likely won’t return.
Out of fear of getting his family caught up in his mess, Treech refuses to share any details regarding how he survived. He’s not ready to talk about it yet, and he worries what might happen if word spreads that things didn’t go exactly as they were supposed to.
Because if they did, he wouldn’t be here right now. He knows the snakebite would’ve been the end of him, and that’s a horrifying thing to think about. He doesn’t like living with the knowledge that according to Dr. Gaul, likely not even one of them were supposed to make it out.
